Art and Craft of Screenwriting

Shelly Frome is a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor and a prolific writer of fiction and nonfiction. He lives in Litchfield, Connecticut.

“valuable screenwriting tool...as thorough as it is honest and passionate”—The Review; “as highly entertaining as it is informative”—Republican-American; “offers a refuge for those juggling with originality versus what will sell”—The Hollywood Scriptwriter; “An informative and lively book about the art and craft of screenwriting.”—Peter Lefcourt, co-executive producer, Desperate Housewives and author of The Manhattan Beach Project and The Deal; “Aspiring screenwriters will find these interviews a treasure trove, but everyone can appreciate them. If you wonder where film may be heading—especially independent film—then you'll savor the insights in [this] book.”—Steve Lawson, executive director of the Williamstown Film Festival and author of the Emmy Award-winning documentary Broadway’s Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theater, and his adaptations of Tennessee Williams’ letters (A Distant Country Called Youth and Blanche and Beyond) have been performed across America.

• Table of ContentsPreface      Introduction      Notes on Content      PART I—THE ESSENTIALS1. An Eye for the Camera      2. A Knack for Juggling      3. A Touch of the Actor      4. A Storyteller’s Vision      PART II—OPTIONS AND METHODS: RUNNING THE GAMUT5. Genre as a Niche      6. Alternative Routes and Strategies      7. The Indie Option      8. Intrepid Merchandising      9. The Adaptation Chronicles      10. Taking on the Novel      11. Piecework at the Factory      12. The Screenwriter at Work: Guidelines and Gauges      13. Scripting, Polishing and Other Nuts and Bolts      PART III—INTERVIEWS: THE VOICES OF EXPERIENCEThe Top Flight Agent      Coverage and the Script Reader      The Hollywood Producer      The Independent Producer      The Film Festival Director      The Actor for All Seasons      The Versatile Writer-Director      The Hollywood Writing Partners      The Emmy-Winning Chronicler      The Master Storyteller      The Screenwriter and the High Road      Afterword      Appendix A: Glossary      Appendix B: Conventional Three-Act Format      Appendix C: Hollywood Mythic Formula      Appendix D: Resources      Selected Bibliography      Index